How Mobile Devices are Transforming Healthcare - Brookings ...

Research found
that mHealth can
reduce the costs of
medical care
among the elderly
by 25 percent.
health clinics when labor starts asking for a midwife, 89 percent of births now take
place with trained health workers in attendance. 28 Researchers at Johns Hopkins
University have extended this model through an mCare initiative. It schedules
prenatal care visits for expectant mothers, helps during childbirth, and checks in after
childbirth to deal with any health issues.
These applications make doctors more efficient because they don’t have to be in
the physical presence of a patient to judge his or her condition. Digital technology
allows people to overcome the limitations of geography in health care and access
information at a distance. This makes it possible for patients to get a second opinion
without visiting another physician by sending that person relevant medical tests. If a
personal conference is required, doctors can use video conferencing to speak to
patients located in another city or state.
Research by the Telnor Group has found that mHealth can reduce the costs of
medical care among the elderly by 25 percent, double access to physicians by those
living in rural areas, and improve tuberculosis treatment compliance by at least 30
percent. 29
Overcoming Policy and Regulatory Barriers
Many patients want to employ digital and mobile technologies in their medical care.
For example, 77 percent in a national survey said they would like to get reminders via
e-mail from their doctors when they are due for a visit, 75 percent want the ability
digitally to schedule a doctor’s visit, 74 percent would like to use e-mail to
communicate directly with their doctor, 67 percent would like to receive the results of
diagnostic tests via e-mail, 64 percent want access to an electronic medical record to
capture information, and 57 percent would like to use a home monitoring device that
allows them to e-mail blood pressure readings to their doctor’s office. 30
A number of people, however, are worried about the privacy and security of
mobile devices and wonder whether increased reliance on handheld devices will
compromise the confidentiality of their medical information. 31 They fear the loss of a
smartphone or tablet that contains personal material and are concerned that their
medical information might end up in the hands of employers or private individuals.
But to move forward with mobile technology, providers must overcome barriers
in terms of reimbursement policy, regulation, and research. 32 In many countries,
neither public nor private insurance plans cover mHealth applications. Physicians,
for example, often are not reimbursed for e-mail or phone consultations, the use of
text messages, or data gathered through remote monitoring devices. Reimbursement
policy is skewed in favor of face-to-face medical treatment over digital or mobile
applications. This limits physician interest in and reliance upon innovative treatment
and reduces the benefits of the mHealth revolution.
There needs to be policy changes that recognize the new landscape of medical
care and the benefits of remote monitoring devices, preventive medicine, text
reminders to take medication, and electronic consultations. Unless physicians are
How Mobile Devices are Transforming Healthcare
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